Tata Power Q2 net profit jumps 85% due to strong show by renewables

Tata Power said its board has also approved plan to raise up to Rs 55 billion through issuance of NCDs on a private placement basis

Tata Power Monday reported an 85 per cent jump in its second-quarter net profit on the back of good performance of its renewable energy business.

Consolidated net profit was Rs 3.93 billion in July-September quarter, compared with Rs 2.13 billion in the same period of the previous year, the company said in a statement here.

Tata Power said its board has also approved plan to raise up to Rs 55 billion through issuance of non-convertible debentures (NCDs) on a private placement basis.

Revenue in the second quarter ended September 30 rose to Rs 72.34 billion from Rs 66.10 billion last year "mainly due to capacity addition in renewables, increase in fuel cost and increase in shipping tonnage," the statement said.

 

The rise in net profit was "mainly due to a good performance from renewables and all regulated businesses," it said.

During the quarter, the firm had an 'exceptional income' of Rs 18.97 billion from sale of investments in associate companies, Tata Communications and Panatone Finvest, which were classified as assets held for sale in the previous year.

Also, there was favourable regulatory order impact that boosted net income by Rs 920 million.

"Tata Power's renewables business profits for Q2 FY19 stood at Rs 1.59 billion," the statement said.

During the quarter, the firm faced pricing pressures and higher fuel cost on Indonesian coal, it said without giving details.

Commenting on the company's performance, Praveer Sinha, CEO and Managing Director, Tata Power said, "We are happy to report that all our businesses have done well and our operations continue to perform well."

"Our growth agenda now is more focused on renewables, rooftop solar solutions and using the Resurgent Power platform to acquire value-adding assets. In the coming years, we have identified key growth areas which include renewable generation, transmission, and distribution along with new value-added businesses including rooftop solar, smart metering, home automation, microgrids in rural areas and setting up of electric vehicle charging units," he said.

During the quarter, Tata Power also rolled out retail rooftop solutions nationwide that has received good response from the customers, he said.

Shares of Tata Power settled 12.40 per cent higher at Rs 77.50 apiece on BSE.

During the second quarter, Tata Power said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd (HPCL) for setting up commercial-scale charging stations for electric vehicles at the HPCL retail outlets and other locations across India.

Also, Tata Power Solar commissioned world's largest solar rooftop stadium installation of 820kWp at Cricket Club of India in Mumbai.

Tata Power boasts of a generation capacity of 10,857 MW.

Coastal Gujarat Power Ltd (CGPL), Tata Power subsidiary that implemented the 4000 MW ultra mega power project near Mundra in Gujarat, completed refinancing of the outstanding ECB loans amounting to $770 million (about Rs 55.00 billion) through a mix of rupee-denominated debt instruments and equity funding from proceeds of divestment of non-core assets.

"The refinancing of USD loans of CGPL will help in rescheduling the cash requirements as well reducing the effective interest cost apart from reducing foreign exchange related volatility for CGPL," the statement said.

The lenders of Prayagraj Power Generation Company Limited (PPGCL), a 3x660MW coal-based power project based in UP have issued a Letter of Intent to Resurgent Power Ventures, (Resurgent Power) for the acquisition of 75.01 per cent stake in PPGCL.

Resurgent Power is a joint venture based out of Singapore with 26 per cent stake by Tata Power through its wholly owned Singapore based subsidiary.